Electrical jack



June 21, 1960 s. GLOVIAK ETAL 2,942,074

ELECTRICAL JACK Filed March 5, 1958 ELIE-:5.

w a gr 572N150 GIOVM/f Awo Ill/(W014 5 FRA N 72 FINN 6. 0155 ATTORA/fl United St ELECTRICAL .lACK

Filed Mar. 5, 1958, Ser. No. 719,235

7 Claims. (Cl. zoo- 51.1

The present invention relates to electrical jacks, and particularly to improvements in such jacks allowing advanced manufacturing and assembling operations to be used and betteroperating performances to be obtained. This is a continuation-in-part of prior application, Serial Number 682,332, filed September 6, 1957.

As was pointed out in the aforesaid application, in manufacturing electrical jacks of the type taught in the prior art, considerable difliculty is encountered in using automatic or semiautomatic means in assembling the parts of the jacks. One of the common ways of forming jacks is to assemble the various electrical elements in stacks with insulating washers or wafers inserted between the electrical elements, and thereafter, to clamp the stacks together by suitable means.

Experience has shown that this way of forming jacks does not lend itself readily to semi-automatic or auto matic assembly and generally must be carried out manually. Naturally, this results in relatively higher labor costs than is desired, and increases defects in workmanship which are inherent when relying on the human elementor manual labor. Thus, if the staking for the stacks should be loose, the various electrical elements will be -misaligned and poor electrical connections will be obtainedinuse.

The troubles encountered in manufacturing extremely small jacks are particularly great and are multiplied many times merely because of the problems raised in handling the very small component parts. Thus, jacks having an overall length of approximately one-half inch less positive action, produce poor electrical connections and generally shorten the life of the jack.

tes Patent With these and other problems of the prior art in mind, i i

it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electrical jack which is constructed and arranged so that its various elements are secured or interlocked in place in a manner most effective for assembling the same and from which optimum results of the jack can be obtained in use.

It is still another object of the present invention to pro- .vide animproved electrical jack of the foregoing char- .acter wherein a dielectric molded plastic body is employed for mounting the various spring contact elements in a predetermined spaced relation, said body being constructed and arranged to assure that such elements will re- .main in their mounted positions in use.

I It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved electrical jack of the foregoing character which has a single dielectric member for retaining the spring contact elements in their mounted positions I and a sleeve into which a mating plug can be introduced 2,942,014 Patented June 21, 1960 of such contact elements are effectively locked in place.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a jack of the foregoing character wherein the clamping means includes a ground terminal as an integral part thereof and when clamped to said sleeve assures a positive connection with the mating plug.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a jack of the foregoing character wherein the molded plastic body is adapted to receive spring contact elements of a plurality of shapes and sizes thereby providing greater application and standardization of parts resulting in a lower cost of production.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a jack that is characterized by the relatively few parts that are required to assemble it and in which hand adjusting is entirely eliminated.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partially in section of one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevation as seen from the right end of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation similar to that of Figure 1, but illustrating an embodimentwherein one contact since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring now to the drawings, and first to Figures 1 and 2, the first embodiment of the invention will be described. The electrical jack 10 is formed from several parts comprising the dielectric body member or insulator 12, an annular shaped insulating element 14, a U-shaped spring contact element 16, a second contact element 18, an externally threaded sleeve 20 into which a mating plug (not shown) may be inserted, and a terminal clamp 22 that is integrally secured to sleeve 29 and hasa pair of tabs 24 and 26 clamped over the end of insulator 12. As will be explained hereinafter, the insulator may be modified for the purpose of adding other stationary terminals and the shapes and numbers of spring contact elements, such as element 16, may vary.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the insulator 12 may be a molded phenolic having a central aperture 28, with slots 30 formed in the walls of such aperture. The upper end of the insulator 12 may have two notches 32, one for each element 16 and 18, extending transversely between the aperture 28 and outer surface. The

notches 32 are of suflicient Width and depth to receive a spring contact element, such as the element 16 or 18.

The spring contact element 16 is an inverted U-s-haped member and straddles the wall of the insulator 12 with the intermediate or mid-portion of spring contact element 16 fitting into the notch 32. The one side of element 16 extends externally of the insulator 12' and has an apertured terminal end 34 to which an electric conductor can'be connected. The other side of element 16 extends into the aperture 28 and after extending a limited distance in said slot 30 parallel to the axis of such aperture, converges toward said axis so that it will be engaged by a mating plug (not shown) when the latter is. inserted through sleeve 20.

Thereafter, the element diverges from the axis and then turns towards the axis so that its end may normally abut against element 18. Since element 16 has spring properties, it will be urged against contact element 18, except when the mating plug (not shown) contacts the innermost surface 360i element 16.

It is to be understood that the spring contact element 16 is of sufficient width so as to fit snugly into the notch 30. This prevents shifting of the element 16 circumferentially with respect to insulator 12. The notches 32 open directly into the slots 30 and these slots and notches, in elfect, are extensions of one another. The slots 30 increase in depth as they extend toward the end from which the contact elements 16 and 18 project. This has the effect ofallowing the spring contact element 16 tobe deflected readily away from the element 18. This has the efiect of forming a rapid separating and wide gap between contact elements 16 and 18 when the plug (not shown) is inserted through sleeve 20 into engagement with surface 36 of element 16.

r The contact element 18 straddles the wall of insulator 12 in the same manner as does element 16. Element 18 also has a mid-portion fitting into its associated notch 32, and has one side extending externally of insulator to provide the apertured terminal end 38 to which an electric conductor can be connected. The other side of element 18 extends through the length of slot 30 and projects beyond the end of insulator'12. The end of element 18 has a lateral extension 40 which is generally circular in shape and turns inwardly so as to form a contact surface against which the end of element 16 normally will abut. Thus, when electrical conductors in a circuit are connected tothe terminal ends 34 and 38 of contact .elements 16 and 18, a closed circuit exists, and when an electrical plug is pressed through sleeve 20. and into engagement with contact surface 36, the aforesaid circuit will be interrupted by breaking the connection formed between elements 16 and 18.

The contact elements 16 and 18 are held in place by the insulating element 14 which seats on the end wall of insulator 12 and blocks the open sides of the notches '32 in which the contact elements 16 and 18 are fitted.

The insulating element 14 also has a skirt 42 of suitable dimension to fit into the opening 28 a limited distance and prevent lateral movement of the contact elements adjacent their intermediate portions. Thus, the insulating element 14. cooper-ates with the insulator 12 to lock the intermediate portion of contact elements 16 and 18 in fixed positions.

overlying the insulating element 14 is the sleeve 20 'which has a clamp terminal 22 integrally attached, as at 44. The clamp terminal 22 has tabs 24, and 26 which are folded over the opposite end of insulator 12 to lock the sleeve 20, the insulating element 14 and insulator '12 together.

The clamp terminal 22 has a terminal 46 to which an electric conductor can be connected providing a positive connection through the sleeve 20 to the mating plug (not shown). It will be observed that the contact elements 16 and 18 are not diametrically oppositeone another thereby providing for more suitable spacing of the terminals 34, 38 and 46.

" This jack can be assembled in various relativelysimple ways, either manually or by automatic or semi-automatic means. Thus, if desired, the insulator 12 can be fed from a hopper either with or without the spring contact elements in place. In the latter case, the spring contact elements would thereafter be inserted in place either manually or automatically. The insulating element 14 can then be fed from another hopper onto its normal position overlying the upper end of the insulator 12. Thereafter, the sleeve 20 and its terminal clamp can be fed from a third hopper to its proper position, after which a.clinching operation is. performed locking the various members together. As can be seen, this method of assembling the parts does not require manual setting or adjustment of any of the parts.

The embodiment described in Figures 1 and 2 is a normally closed jack with respect to terminals 34 and 38. If desired, the contact element 18 may be completely omitted in which case the jack will be normally open, as shown by the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4. In this embodiment, the illustrated parts are identically thesarne as the corresponding parts shown in Figures 1 and 2, and like reference numbers are applied.

Thus, it can be seen that standard parts canybe used for more than one type of jack. Furthermore, the unique design for retaining the parts together in a set position is particularly suitable for making extremely small jacks. drawing are normally no more than one-half inch in overall length.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. An electrical jack comprising an insulator having a central axial opening therethrough and one end wall normal to the axis of said opening containing a radial notch extending transversely from the radially inner wall to the radially outer wall of the insulator, a contact element with an intermediate portion in said radial notch and one end initially extending axially'into said central I axial opening and thereafter being directed at least partially radially inwardly toward said axis; the other end projecting outwardly beyond the outer end of said radial notch for attachment to an electrical conductor, an apertured insulating'element seated on the notchedend of said insulator in registry with said central opening for retaining said contact element in place, said insulating element having a fiat apertured portion whose outer periphery conforms to the outer periphery of said one end wall and a skirt depending from the inncrperiphery of said fiat aperturcd portion and fitting into the central axial opening of said insulator so as to confine movement of the axially extending portion of the one end of said contact element, a sleeve aligned axially with said insulating element and positioned on the side thereof remote from said insulator, the internal dimensions of said sleeve and said skirt being of corresponding size to accommodate a plug which is adapted to engage the radially inwardly directed portion of the one end of said contact element, and means fastening said insulator, said insulating element and said sleeve together.

2. An electrical jack as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means comprises a clamping member carried by said sleeve, said clamping member beingseated on said insulating element and having tabs which extend over the remote end of said insulator. i

3. An electrical jack comprising an insulator having a centralaxial opening therethrough defining a radially inner wall, and one end wall normal to the axis of said opening containing a radial notch extending transverselyfrom said radially inner wall to the radially outer wall of said insulator, said radially inner wall having a slot extending lengthwise thereof and intersecting said radial notch, a contact element with an intermediate portion in saidradial notch and one end initially extending axially into said slotand thereafter beingdirected' atl'east partially radially toward said axis, the other end of 'said contact element Thus, the embodiments illustrated in the tured insulating element having a flat portion seated on the notched end of said insulator and askirt portion depending from the radially inner edge of said flat portion, said fiat and skirt portions fitting over the intermediate portion and the axial portions respectively of said contact element for restricting movement of the same, a sleeve aligned axially with said insulating element and positioned on the side thereof remote from said insulator, the internal dimensions of said sleeve and said skirt portion being of corresponding size to accommodate a plug which is adapted to engage the radially inwardly directed portion of the one end of said contact element, and means fasten: ing said insulator, said insulating element and said sleeve together.

4. An electrical jack as claimed in claim 3 wherein said slot becomes progressively deeper toward the other end of said insulator so that said one end of the contact element can be displaced to a limited extent laterally away from said skirt portion.

5. An electrical jack comprising an insulator having a central axial opening therethrough defining a radially inner wall and having one end wall generally normal to the axis of said opening, an apertured insulating element having a generally flat apertured portion seated on said one end wall and a skirt portion depending from the inner edge of said apertured portion and fitting into said axial opening, said end and inner walls and said flat apertured and skirt portions defining therebetween a continuous notch and slot arrangement extending radially inwardly from the outer side of said insulator to said skirt portion and axially to the lower end of said skirt portion, a contact element with an intermediate portion in the radially inwardly extending portion of said continuous notch and slot arrangement and with one end initially extending axially in the axial portion of said continuous notch and slot arrangement and thereafter being directed at least partially radially toward said axis, the other end of said contact element projecting outwardly beyond the outer side of said insulator for attachment to an electrical conductor, a sleeve aligned axially with said insulating element and positioned on the side thereof remote from said insulator, the internal dimensions of said sleeve and said skirt portion being of corresponding size to accommodate a plug which is adapted to engage the radially inwardly directed portion of the one end of said contact element, and means fastening said insulator, said insulating element and said sleeve together.

6. An electrical jack comprising an insulator having a central axial opening therethrough defining a radially inner wall having two parallel slots extending lengthwise thereof, and an end wall normal to the axis of said opening containing two radial notches communicating respectively with said slots and the outer side wall of said insulator, a first contact element having an intermediate portion positioned in one of said notches with one end of the element external of the insulator for attachment to an electrical conductor and the other endinitially extending axially into one of said slots, a second contact element similarly positioned with respect to the other notch and slot, the other end of said first contact element extending beyond the end of said insulator and having at its end an arcuate lateral projection to form a contact surface for contact by said second contact element, said second contact element having its corresponding other end extending lengthwise in its slot a limited distance and then directed inward toward said axis to form a surface engageable by an electrical plug and thereafter having a reverse bent tip portion normally in engagement with the contact surface of said first contact element and adapted to be disengaged therefrom when an electrical plug engages said second contact element urging the same laterally outwardly, an apertured insulating element having a flat portion seated on the notched end of said insulator and a skirt portion depending from the radially inner edge of said fiat portion, said fiat and skirt portions fitting over the intermediate portions and the axial portions of said contact elements for restricting movements of the same, a sleeve aligned axially with said insulating element and positioned on the side thereof remote from said insulator, the internal dimensions of said sleeve and said skirt portion being of corresponding size to accommodate a plug which is adapted to engage said surface of said second contact element, and means fastening said insulator, said insulating element and said sleeve together.

7. An electrical jack as claimed in claim 6 wherein said first and second contact elements are out of diametrically opposed relationship and said sleeve has connected thereto a terminal to provide three spaced terminal around the exterior of said insulator and extending laterally therefrom.

Bour Dec. 28, 1948 Sanda Aug. 20, 1957 

